Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, James Gandolfini, Victor Gojcaj

In The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train....( read more  read more... ) John Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there's one riddle Garber can't solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape?

Flixster Users

60% liked it

617,031 ratings

Critics

52% liked it

201 critics

R, 2 hrs. 1 min.

Directed by: Tony Scott

Release Date: June 12, 2009

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DVD Release Date: November 3, 2009

Stats: 21,123 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (21,123)


  • December 21, 2009
    The ending killed this movie. sad.
  • December 4, 2009
    This movie was extremely disappointing. Proof positive that language can completely destroy an otherwise ho-hum movie
  • November 25, 2009
    The updated version was just as interesting as the original!
  • November 15, 2009
    review to come
  • November 15, 2009
    It is interesting to watch how stories can change depending on the director's style.
    In this case director Tony Scott turned a quieter intense thriller into a balls-out action film that only Scott can deliver. Which just happens to be both one of the film's strong points as well...( read more) as its biggest flaw. Yes it is quite distinctive from the 1974 film but it is also more or less the exact same film from any other Tony Scott in the last decade. All flaws and total disinterest in logic in place.
    Luckily that means all the strongest points of Tony Scott's film, in particular the cast. With his fourth film with Scott, Denzel Washington is once again solid as the lead. Providing a quiet strength and flawed everyman needed for the character and never being attention to the his star power. It just goes to show how strong he really is as an actor.
    Now on the polar opposite of subtle, John Travolta dials his performance up to 11 and loves every second of it. Its great to see Travolta back in "Face/Off" mode and is actually the funniest time I've had at a Travolta film in a long time.
    Both actors provide great sense of conflict and find an equal level realism and crazy fun and for a solid 2/3s of the film it keeps that balance.
    Then comes the ending, which throws out just about everything that was good about this film out of the window and just becomes an bombardment of annoying cuts, frantic camera work and cars crashing all over the place, as though I was re-living my driver's test all over again. Which is a shame because Scott has a really great story here but he just can't stay still and let the story tell itself.
    So what your left with is a solid rental and a fun popcorn film but nothing near as great as the first film.
  • December 31, 2009
    Worse than I expected. I wasn't really looking forward to this movie at all. It looked like it might have some solid performances (which it did) and it would be at least some sort of escapist fun (as weird as that sounds for a movie like this). But in the end it was very disap...( read more)pointing. Issue is, if you're going to do this kind of movie, I feel that you should make it as realistic as possible. Something which this movie wasn't. A lot of the stuff that happens in this movie is really absurd. The laptop's wireless internet still functioning even when they're deep in the tunnel. I'd like that wireless internet signal. Works through tunnels and shit. Also the scene where the cops are delivering the money is just horrid. Just horrible. And the scene where the cop gets bit by the rat. Just pathetic shit like that really drags the movie down. Not to mention the fact that the movie is uninteresting even if you didn't point out those flaws. I've never seen the original so I don't know how it compares. But all in all, solid performance from everybody (even if John Travolta's dialogue consisted of 5 curse words in every sentence) but in the end, just stupidity gets the worst of this movie.
  • December 31, 2009
    Trovolta is a bad ass I got nothing to lose all around awesome bad guy in this movie.
  • December 31, 2009
    For me, Denzel Washington can do no wrong. John Travolta is also an equally good actor in his field.
  • December 30, 2009
    While it's nothing revelatory, this was a pretty solid thriller, I enjoyed Denzel's everyman being picked at by Travolta's criminal mastermind in leather daddy drag, it was an interesting game of cat and also cat.

    Travolta is in full-on scenery chewing mode here, which is fun to...( read more) listen to, if a little disconcerting as he starts out relatively pleasant, then suddenly starts throwing around the 'motherfuckers!' rather casually.

    Worth a rental for sure.
  • December 30, 2009
    Entertaining for a while... but they could have done more with the ending.

Critic Reviews


July 31, 2009
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

If you like Scott you can argue that too much is better than too little. This movie has a vision and sticks to it. full review

June 15, 2009
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

Can a director be arrested for the attempted hijack of our emotions? full review

June 12, 2009
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Set in a nightmare New York City, the subway hostage thriller batters our nerves like a tom-tom. full review

June 12, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Most disappointing is the new film's reluctance to even attempt to match the ingenuity of the original movie's celebrated one-two punch ending. full review

June 12, 2009
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, an energetic updating of the 1974 mass transit thriller, takes account of how much the character of New York has changed. full review

June 12, 2009
Kurt Loder, MTV

There's plenty of action, but little to get excited about. full review

June 11, 2009
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

A solidly crafted suspense thriller set on a subway train proves the perfect vehicle for two stars at the top of their game. full review

June 11, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

The new Pelham takes the chilling original premise and modifies it for an era steeped in technology, making for an energetic and engrossing adaptation. full review

June 11, 2009
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

As Ryder's motives begin to reveal themselves, The Taking of Pelham 123 loses its aura of post-9/11 dread, replaced by a muddled commentary on Wall Street greed in these days of raging financial crises. full review

June 11, 2009
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

This movie hits you like 600 volts from a sparking third rail. Damn straight it's electrifying. full review

June 11, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

The new Pelham is a solid, suspenseful tale all over again, so long as it stays in the subway tunnels and airless offices of the transit department. full review

June 11, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

There's not much wrong with Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, except that there's not much really right about it. full review

June 10, 2009
Armond White, The New York Press

Pelham 123 exploits urban anxiety without relief or understanding. Using exacerbation as entertainment, it is simply an I HATE NY ad. full review

June 9, 2009
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Are Tony Scott's films actually directed by Google Earth? full review

June 8, 2009
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Travolta's high-tech 21st-century scheme turns out to be not just preposterous but superfluous, demented. full review

View more The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • murad4murad
    October 5, 2009
    It reminded me of the 90s movies, meaningful, a lot of hidden points, great actors, smart directing plus I just loved Ryder's personality in the movie and how it reflected his background and what he's been threw in his life (John-T). I give it 5.
  • aliciacheney19
    June 13, 2009
    hi to you
  • liliecv1
    June 12, 2009
    i hope is as good as i think it is!
  • AsianNorthOfThailandGeneration
    April 6, 2009
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    " Hey my friend " Rayman0071 " . He has invitation me to watch it . You know i'm really wishing would like to watch it on rite thier at the nicer theatre . Have you watch it ? "
  • ahmedsniper2003
    August 4, 2008
    I ADDED THIS MOVIE TO FLIXSTER!!!!!

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The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Trivia


  • Name this movie that starred Robert Shaw as a hijacker along with Martin Balsam and Walter Matthau as a transit authority inspector  Answer »
  • Vincent D’Onofrio  Answer »
  • Name the film: Walter Matthau has to stop Robert Shaw and a team of hijackers from shooting innocent people on a NY subway.  Answer »

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